National briefs: Clinic shooting leaves 1 dead

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DARBY, Pa. — A doctor grazed by gunfire from a patient who had entered his office Thursday in a suburban Philadelphia hospital’s psychiatric unit stopped him by returning fire with his own gun and injuring him, authorities said.

Investigators believe the doctor had his own gun and acted in self-defense, District Attorney Jack Whelan said.

The patient, who had psychiatric problems, opened fire after entering the doctor’s office with a caseworker Thursday afternoon, Mr. Whelan said. The caseworker was killed.

2 die in storm

CAPE CHARLES, Va. — A likely tornado tore through an eastern Virginia campground Thursday, killing two people and injuring 31 as it downed trees and overturned vehicles, officials said.

The storm swept across the Chesapeake Bay and slammed into the seaside Cherrystone Campground at the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula during the busy summer season, bringing hail, high winds and heavy rain.

9/​11 figure sidelined

WASHINGTON — A military judge ruled Thursday that one of the five defendants being tried at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for their alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks be severed from the proceeding.

The decision delivers another in a series of delays to the government's effort to prosecute Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni described as a key figure in the plot who acted as a liaison between the hijackers and al-Qaida’s leadership in Afghanistan.

But the order could accelerate pre-trial proceedings for the four others, including the self-proclaimed mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed.

Obama suit bid gains

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday took another step toward authorizing a lawsuit against President Barack Obama, claiming he has overstepped his executive powers.

In a partisan vote of 7-4, the House Rules Committee approved the legislation, likely setting it up for consideration by the full House next week. The Republican initiative already has spawned a bitter debate with Democrats less than four months before elections that will determine the political control of Congress next year.

Senator’s plagiarism flap

HELENA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Thursday he had no knowledge that Sen. John Walsh had plagiarized his master’s thesis when he appointed the former lieutenant governor to the Senate in February, and that he continues to support the Democrat’s candidacy in 2014.

Mr. Bullock joined state and national Democrats with a statement supporting Mr. Walsh, whose apparent plagiarism was first reported Wednesday by The New York Times.

Band director axed

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University fired the director of its celebrated marching band Thursday amid allegations he knew about and ignored “serious cultural issues,” some involving rituals where students were pressured to march in their underwear or participate in sexually themed stunts.

Jonathan Waters had led the band since 2012, and served in lesser capacities for a decade before that.

Prison for violin theft

MILWAUKEE — One of the two Milwaukee men involved in the January armed robbery that briefly netted them a $5 million Stradivarius violin was sentenced Thursday to 3½ years in prison.

Universal K. Allah, 37, pleaded guilty in May to robbery as a party to a crime. The crime’s purported mastermind, Salah Salahadyn, 42, has yet to enter a plea.